New Study Reveals that Gamers May Have Less Control Over Impulsive Aggressive Behavior

I came upon this new study and I thought that it would be interesting to see if gamers would agree that they see this type of change in themselves due to their gaming. The study looks at how fast-paced games that involve quick decision-making reduce “proactive executive control” and lead to a more difficult time in inhibiting impulsive behavior. An example of a type of game that can cause this could be Halo or Gears of War. When you are playing these games you need to make quick decisions when an enemy attacks you at any given time. This study is saying that getting the brain used to thinking this way may cause you to make quick and rash decisions in real life situations.

Doctor Craig Anderson, director of the Centre for the Study of Violence at Iowa State University in the United States has stated that, “We believe that any game that requires the same type of rapid responding as in most first-person shooters may produce similar effects on proactive executive control, regardless of violent content.”

“Proactive cognitive control involves keeping information active in short-term memory for use in later judgments, a kind of task preparation. Reactive control is more of a just-in-time type of decision resolution. Impulsive aggression, by definition, is aggressive behavior that occurs automatically, or almost automatically, without evidence of any inhibition or thought about whether it should be carried out.”

I would have to admit that after a long session of Halo multiplayer I would probably have a shorter fuse if I was faced with something like getting into a car accident or even driving in traffic. However, I do feel like that would only be for a short period of time after playing because it seems like your brain understands and adapts to whatever environment you are in. Because you are so invested in the game, it would make sense that you would stay in that mentality for a little while after ending the game. If you haven’t played for several days, I don’t think the same thing would apply.

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